Last year at EAA AirVenture, Textron Aviation unveiled a mock-up of the cabin in its all-new Cessna Denali single-engine turboprop (click here for the AVweb video tour), and this week at the show, the company provided an update on its progress with the airplane. Manufacturing of the first full-airframe test article has begun, the company said, and the team has started to build tooling for production. “The team began propeller test runs and component tests with GE’s new advanced turboprop engine,” said Brad Thress, senior vice president of engineering. Additional test articles have been completed and testing has begun of the fuel system and the doors. First flight is expected next year, Thress said.
Thress said the company is seeing “tremendous interest” in the airplane from potential buyers, among both competing turboprop owners and piston owners looking to step up. The airplane will cruise at 285 knots and carry a full fuel payload of 1,100 pounds, with a range of up to 1,600 nautical miles. The panel will feature Garmin G1000 touchscreen avionics.
